If we were to look over the entirety of all human art—music, literature, painting, etc.—I believe the most popular and consistent topic is love. Usually, the love portrayed is that between a man and a woman—romantic love, sometimes fulfilled, sometimes unrequited. Still, the emphasis is love.
Someone once said love makes the world go ‘round. Certainly, love is something we all yearn for, both to receive and to give. Love is a powerful emotion that can alter history.
It should come as no surprise that the Bible speaks a great deal about love. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is premised on God’s great love for us in that He sent His Only Son to bring us salvation (cf. John 3:16). It is premised on Christ’s great love for the Father and for us in that He willingly surrendered His rightful place to become human and ultimately die on the cross (cf. Philippians 2:1-11). As God loves us, so He calls us to also love Him. The greatest commandment is to love God with our total being, and to demonstrate that love by loving our neighbor as ourselves.
When we speak of love, though, what is it exactly that we mean? After all, we express our love for many and various things. We love our sweethearts, but we also love certain movies, songs, foods, pets, books and so forth. Obviously, we don’t feel the same type of feeling for lasagna as we do for our spouse, nor do we consider a pet with the same kind of affection we feel toward a good book.
So what does the Bible mean when it speaks of love, and the way we are to love God and one another, as well ourselves?
Love’s definitions
As we discussed, the English language covers a myriad of emotions when it comes to love. We use the word to express our appreciation for a number of things, with different values and feelings arising out of the word and the context.
The Bible was written in different languages from English, obviously. The Old Testament consists primarily of Hebrew and Aramaic, while the New Testament is written primarily in koine Greek, the Greek used by the common person on the street. There are a few Aramaic passages included in the New Testament, since that was the language of Jesus, the disciples and those around Him, but the Aramaic is minimal.
In the Greek language, there are several words that we interpret as “love” in English, but as we shall see, each of these Greek words have a distinctive meaning.
Philia – brotherly love; affectionate regard; friendship. This is the type of love between friends, such as that between David and Jonathan in the Old Testament, or between the disciples and Jesus. In John 21:15-18, Jesus confronts Peter about Peter’s devotion to Jesus. Twice, Jesus asks Peter if the disciple has an agape love toward Him. In both instances, Peter uses “phileo” to define his commitment to Christ. The third time, Jesus sues “phileo” when asking if Peter loves Him, and Peter confirms his brotherly affection for Jesus.
Eros – sexual passion. In most of the English arts, this is the love that we most often reference. A love between two people that includes a sexual attraction and affection. While the Bible does not shy away from erotic love (read Song of Solomon, part of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament), when the New Testament references this type of love, it is usually to warn against acting upon it outside of the marital relationship.
Storge – tenderness, love, affection for parents and children. This is the familial love and loyalty that is so vital to a successful society and community. This type of love extends beyond the immediate family to include one’s social group, tribe or clan. This type of love is encouraged in the Bible, but it is also warned against in the sense that we can use this to create divisions between groups of people.
Pragma – love demonstrated by two people during a lengthy marriage. Again, a type of love that is encouraged in the Bible, but one that really isn’t stressed in that regard. Such a love is one that survives the fire of erotic love and, while including elements of eros, extends beyond to a deeper appreciation for one’s spouse.
Philautia – love for one’s self. This is a love that is most contradictory. Most of society looks down upon loving one’s self too much, but we also look down upon self-loathing. This is the love that Jesus referenced in the answer to what is the greatest command. Along with loving God completely, we are to love our neighbors (philia) as ourselves (philautia). The Bible wants us to learn to accept and love ourselves, recognizing that our worth comes through our relationship with Christ. Rather than beat ourselves up as we are often prone to do, we need to accept and appreciate ourselves. We need to develop philautia in a healthy dose.
Agape – the love of God for man and man for God originating from love for one’s children or for a spouse. This is the greatest love and the one that drives the entire Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22. It is a love that is unconditional and composed entirely of giving. This is the love that Paul references in 1 Corinthians 13, and this is the love we will focus on in this writing as well as subsequent writings. While love is a strong emotion, in the context of agape, the emotion of the love is secondary. In this type of love, it is more the action and the way of life it demonstrates that defines this love.
Love Is an Attitude
It most cases of love, there is a condition implied in the relationship. When we say we love something or someone, there is usually a “because” attached to it. I love lasagna, because it tastes good. I love a particular kind of music because it makes me feel good. I love my friend because he or she “gets” me. I love my wife because she laughs at my jokes. And on and on it goes. These relationships are conditional. If lasagna stopped tasting good, I’d stop loving it.
The love that is defined by the Greek word agape is not conditional. It is not premised on the “because” aspect of a relationship, but rather is based upon an attitude. It is centered on the attitude of God toward us. The Spirit of God, speaking through both apostles Paul and John, describes of this attitude of God toward us, Paul in Romans, and John in his first letter.
In Romans 5, Paul writes about God’s timing in sending Jesus into the world. Paul describes us as powerless and ungodly (v. 6), as sinners (v. 8) and God’s enemies (v. 10). Paul is emphasizing that God’s love was extended to us through Christ despite these attributes assigned to us. God’s attitude was one of reaching out to those who were helpless and unable or unwilling to be reconciled to Him on our own.
In John’s first letter, he writes: “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we first loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
God’s love is shown to be an attitude more than an emotion. While certainly the emotion was there, it was God’s way of considering us and the way He saw us and His relationship to us that caused Him to act unconditionally in the sending of Christ to atone for our sins, and so bring us into a right relationship with Him. Through this act of love, God transforms those who believe from enemies to His children (cf. John 1:12-13).
Love is a World View
Just as agape love is an attitude, so is it a way of seeing the world. The love of God that indwells us through His Spirit leads us to see the world differently than we did before our encounter with Him. “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
The “old” person or world view is focused on “what’s in it for me?” Our actions and our thoughts are focused on what’s in our best interests. Love in the old way is seen again in the attitude of loving because of something. The “new” person has a love that is not focused on how it can advance ourselves and our cause, but it is unconditional and looks to see how we can serve and build others up. The new way of seeing things that Paul wrote of in 2 Corinthians is now a ministry of reconciliation.
The world view we take on with agape is how we can help others attain their fullest potential in Christ. That entails evangelism, discipleship and fellowship. The agape of God is centered on bringing others into the kingdom of God, the family of God. And as we are transformed by the working of the Spirit in our lives, that becomes our world view as well.
Love is Demonstrative
From the passages cited above, it becomes apparent that agape is not passive but active and demonstrative. God showed His love by sending His Son. He demonstrates His love by reconciling us to Him.
John, further on in 1 John 4, lets us know that this love is demonstrative. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:19-21).
Jesus also speaks of it in the parable of the sheep and the goats. In the parable, God separates the sheep from the goats. He rewards the sheep and condemns the goats, based solely on the way they treated other people. To the sheep, they are rewarded for responding positively to the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the alienated (those in jail). The goats are condemned for failing to act on meeting the same needs. The sheep ask when they did these things for Jesus, and the response is, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40). The goats also ask why they are being condemned, and the answer is, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me” (v. 45).
Conclusion
The point of agape love is that it changes us. It transforms us from passive, selfish individuals into caring, compassionate people who no longer see as the world sees, but now sees with God’s eyes. Seeing the world in a new way, we become active in our world and in transforming the lives of those around us.
God never calls us to change the world, but He does call us to change our world. Our world is the one in which we live each day. The way we transform our world is by being God’s conduit of agape love for those around us, even the least of these our brothers.
© 2019 Glynn Beaty